Page 27 of Scarred

My fingers continue down until I’m grazing against her neck. I expect her to pull away, but once again she surprises me, tilting her head as if she craves my touch.

“You put a lot of trust in me, asking about a rebel faction and thinking I won’t throw you in the dungeons and chain you up.”

Her pulse thrums beneath my thumb, and my muscles cramp in anticipation at the way her nerves show themselves to me, no matter how much she tries to hide them.

“You wouldn’t,” she breathes.

“You’re so sure?” My grip tightens around her throat, wanting to feel her pulse flutter as I whisper dirty words into her ear. “I think you’d look lovely tied to a wall and begging for mercy.”

Something wild unleashes inside of me as her pupils dilate, my balls jerking, making my length pulse against the fabric of my trousers. I drop my hand to her waist, moving us until she’s pressed into the alcove of the window’s archway, our bodies centimeters apart.

“You shouldn’t be touching me,” she whispers. “If someone sees… they could put us to death.”

“What are you going to do, take out your cute little dagger and try to bleed me dry?” I ask, my hand pushing against her torso so she’s flattened against the wall. “Would you like to keep pretending? I know you’re not the good girl you claim to be.”

Her palms jump to my chest, fingers digging into my black tunic. I lean in, my nose skimming along her hairline, breathing in her soft floral scent. “I see what you try so hard to hide.”

I feel out of control. Every single piece of me is raging to grab her, and fuck her, and brand her, and keep her, which is crazy because I don’t evenwanther.

“You don’t have to hide from me, little doe.”

“I’m not hiding,” she purrs, her lips brushing against mine. “I’m revolted.”

Footsteps sound from down the hall and we pull away from each other, her fingers tangling in the thin chain of her necklace.

I spin away, cursing myself for being so idiotic.Why would I touch her in the middle of the hallway?

Why would I touch her at all?

She’s right. If anyone knew, it would be disastrous. My brother would jump on the chance to arrest and put me to death. He wouldn’tactuallybe able to kill me, of course. I’d be gone before he could announce the trial but being outcast to the shadowed lands isn’t helpful to my goals at the moment.

Anger whips through me like a windstorm and I turn a glare on Lady Beatreaux.Is she bewitching me on purpose?

“Stop looking at me like that,” she hisses.

“Such a smart mouth,” I snap. “Watch how you speak to your prince.”

Her lip curls. “You areabsolutelyinsane, aren’t you?”

My teeth grind, irritation slashing against my skin.

“Your Highness,” a deep voice booms off the stone walls, a royal guard walking toward us. He stops a few paces away and bows.

“What?” I hiss, twisting toward him.

His gaze bouncing between us. “Am I interrupting?”

Annoyance licks at my spine, but before I can reply, Lady Beatreaux steps forward, her energy having changed in the blink of an eye into something harsher. Something more regal.

Her head rises high, her back is straight, and she looks every bit like the queen she’s about to become. “Who are you to question him?”

My cock throbs so violently I have to bite back the groan.

The guard’s eyes narrow and he points to his chest. “I’m a commander in the king’s army.”

“And she is your new queen,” I snap, moving so she’s behind me.

The guard’s gaze widens as he looks back and forth between us, and it’s only then I realize he may have seen more than I thought.